Static
by HiddlesMeThis
Summary: Peggy finds news that Steve has been found in the ice alive. Finally, Steve is able to for fill that rain check on that dance he had promised her.


Static

Peggy sat alone in her room. Her room in which she spent almost every minute of every day in, her body was now betraying her as well as her vivid memories of the past that haunted her in nightmares. Her deteriorating mind was too betraying her, her nightmares that had plagued her ever since that faithful day had now merged with her reality. Hallucinations and horribly rigid, clear images of those days would come without warning. For many years she had suppressed these thoughts, tried to build walls around what she didn't want to remember, to box in the silence that was the response to her calling out for him as the radio static was all she heard and when these walls broke down, that static was the first thing that swarmed through her mind. That static was constant now. She longed for closure, but they hadn't even found his body, he had simply disappeared into nothing; was wiped off the face of the earth and out of existence.  
Seventy years had passed now and Peggy was growing weary of ever obtaining the closure she so desired. She had held on this long, much past the time of any of her friends in hopes he would be found. She had been holding on so long, but with no apparent end to her sorrow and her free fall into madness she was considering finally letting go. She couldn't hold on forever and she had been on the brink of death much too long now, there was no more joy in living.  
The static raged on and she reached out to the table, her fragile, thin and knobby fingers stretch out slowly, shaking as she lifted the daily newspaper to her lap, pulling the round glasses that hung around her neck up to rest on her brittle nose. As if her prayers had finally been answered there read a headline on the front page "Frozen Man Found Possible WWII Hero Lost at Sea". She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to focus, they too had been failing her recently and the photograph that accompanied the headline was a large blur of red, white, and blue. Her heart was racing dangerously fast, this had to be it, it had to be him. Her eyes finally cooperated with her and there he was, saluting the camera, a bright smile on his face, the caption beneath confirmed her joys. "Captain Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America as seen above is believed to be the man found beneath the layers of ice, somehow still alive." _Still alive_, had she read that correctly? She rubbed her eyes but it still said the same thing.  
The words of the paper were much too small for her weak eyes, but she continued to follow the story until she found another picture. The caption read "A personal item found beside the frozen man, sitting before him on his dashboard and a picture of an undisclosed woman." She let out a small gasp, his pocket watch, his photograph of her. The static in her mind strengthened and she rubbed her pulsing temples.

"Ms. Carter?" The static subsided just enough for her to hear the young nurse's voice call from the doorway.  
"Ms. Carter, you have a visitor. He says it is very important he speaks with you."  
"Well, what are you waiting for? Send him in." Her heart was racing, could it possibly be Steve? To her disappointment another man she had never seen before entered. He wore a black suit; his thin brown hair he had left on his balding head was neatly maintained and showed his kind eyes.  
"Good afternoon, Ms. Carter." He said with a smile, approaching her and sitting across from her, holding a familiar brown file in his hands.  
"I believe you knew one Steve Rogers?" He opened the file, the file she had looked through so many times, the photographs neatly paper clipped to the corner.  
"Indeed I did, and who might you be?"  
"Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D," The man smiled, his kind eyes accented by a few wrinkles as a consequence of age and his expression.  
"And what may I do for you, Agent Coulson?" She gave a polite smile, forcing the static back to concentrate on what the man had to say.  
"As you may have heard, we've found the Captain and I believe this is you?" The man held out the small, golden pocket watch that was flipped open to reveal her much younger self.  
"Indeed it is."  
"So you were well acquainted, you and the Captain."  
"I believe so. Why do you ask?"  
"Well the Captain has woken up and, well, he requests to see you."  
Peggy's heart was once again beating wildly, more than it had in ages. A flare of static consumed her mind a moment and she closed her eyes tightly until it passed. He had remembered her, he asked to see her.  
"Well then, bring him in as soon as you may, please."

She sat in her wheelchair, eagerly awaiting his arrival. He'd be here soon, the dream she'd dreamed so many times was finally coming true. He'd be back with her in the end. She was rather surprised when a young Steve entered her room, his eyes filled with joyousness and such strong emotion.  
"Peggy!" He exclaimed and hurried over to her, sitting before her and taking one of her wrinkled hands in both of his.  
No words escaped either of them; they sat in silence, gazing at each other.  
"Steve," She finally broke out, her voice cracking, the static building to a loud buzz, more severe than she had ever experience.  
"Peggy I'm so sorry about everything that happened. I can't imagine what you've been through and I apologize."  
"Ah, what's another lost soldier?" She smiled, trying out her sense of humor that had long been repressed.  
They spoke for hours, Peggy never once mentioning how she'd sneak into his file every now and then to remind herself of him. Never once bringing up how she'd sat alone in his spare uniform imagining he had come back somehow. And definitely not bringing up he was the only reason she was still alive and had held on this long.  
"Your dance, Peggy, I've kept you waiting long enough. This evening, I promise." She nodded, and without another word he left.  
The static only grew, buzzing and raging within her mind, it pained her and she crippled into a small ball in her chair. A warped voice was heard and her vision blurred, the nurse that had just entered when unnoticed by her even when the nurse grabbed her arm and began calling for help. Everything faded to black and all that was heard that was clear as crystal; static.  
Peggy never got her dance, she died that night. She'd seen Steve and no longer was her body able to support herself any longer. When Steve had returned dressed in his plain military uniform with a smile on his face and his arm behind his back his smile soon faded and he fell to his knees, his face buried in his hands.

Peggy had no funeral as all her relatives, all of her friends, had passed away long ago, leaving only Steve who took care of all her arrangements. When she was buried he visited her tombstone, the freshly dug soil crunching under his feet. He knelt down on one knee placed a single, crisp rose beneath her name, hanging his head as he spoke.  
"Peggy, we may not have gotten that chance to dance while you were still here and I apologize for that. Thank you for holding on so long, you truly were a fighter and I cannot thank you enough for that. One day, I promise, we will have that dance. I have no doubt you'll be waiting patiently for me. Until then,"  
He picked up a handful of the soil pressed between his fingers and his palm. He kissed his now dirty fingers, opening a small glass vial and pouring the dirt in. He kissed her gravestone as well, right where her name had been engraved on the smooth marble. Without even a glance he danced as best he could alone, holding the vial of dirt to his heart.  
"Goodbye, Peggy. Until we meet again."


End file.
